Something about passive mode..

[jcerio]

I have an MTD Kingston Grendel. Two original jazz pups. Someone gutted it and installed a Nordstrand Pre. I generally leave it in passive. It sounds more open and detailed in passive. Not sure if it's the preamp or not.

 

[Bodeeni]

I have been a 'passive only' guy for the last several years. I just picked up a Jazz Deluxe from the Suhr era. I had already ordered the passive harness for it, but now that I am playing it active, it is pretty cool. It has a very hot colored sound but it works on this bass. It is fun to have such a lot of EQ flexibility onboard. I would never adjust my amp the way I will swing the EQ on the bass. I think I will leave it this way.

 

[Rib 13]

I think sometimes there is much adu about nothing, but it gives us something to talk about.

dude, youre a moderator....you just now noticed that about 1/3 of these threads here?

 

[smeet]

I always play active basses, but always with an active/passive switch. By myself in a room I like the passive sound (a bit of added midrange richness maybe?), but in a band that slight difference can't be heard, even by me. Add in the ability to eq my signal on the fly and I almost never use passive mode.

Caveats:

I have settled on the Nordstrand 3-band preamp, which to my ear is the most natural-sounding that I've heard. The full range of all controls is usable. I can't say the same for the other preamps I've tried.

Fender's preamps are some of the worst to my ears. I know that when I (briefly) owned a Jazz Deluxe V I preferred in in passive mode. I also didn't like the N3 (or whatever it was) noiseless pickups. To my ear, Fender's more "modern" designs don't stand up as well as their traditional ones.

 

[bearfoot]

If you had followed your own advice, you’d see that I didn’t, either.

Ok, let's rumble. (joking) Please indicate where the OP said any of the things you have accused him of. Did he represent passive-players as a small, maligned minority? Or what about him stating that passive-players are somehow neglected?
It should be very easy for you to quote those statements, if they existed.
I will say again, I completely agree with what you said, in principle, but the evidence is that you are reading between the lines too much in this instance.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Jaco didn’t need active basses.

 

[Andy Daventry]

For me, it just seems that passive basses have a firmer identity as instruments. My active excursions have included Yamaha BB something or other, a Fender Stu Hamm Urge II and a Heartfield DR5. I felt like a bass operator rather than a bass player. Particularly with the Urge, I could not find a tone which said to me "This is what this bass is all about".

 

[kkaarrll]

something about it

I started on active 5 strings

have transitioned to all passive 4's

it just sounds more real/natural/organic whatever to me

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I have never been a fan of active basses until the day I bought a Warmoth Deluxe Jazz Bass V. I tried this used bass in the store, noticing there was a battery cavity in the back. I plugged it and "dang!" For the first time I loved the sound if an active bass!
I buy the beast, take it home and undertake to check what kind of preamp sounded that great...surprise! the last owner had ditched the preamp and wired it passive...oh well...

 

[micguy]

Jaco didn’t need active basses.

Jaco didn’t need sobriety, either; careful where you apply that logic.

 

[bassdude51]

I am an electronics "dufus". But, I've heard that active electronics have something called a "buffer", whatever that means. I tends to make a bass sound "sterile" even when playing at flat.

Passive rules for true sound.

But on the other hand, I've heard some bass people tell me that when they are plugged direct into the board, it's nice to have active EQ for sculpturing the sound.

Merit both ways.

 

[two fingers]

I'm not "anti-active", but I have been in an passive phase lately.

My main player is all passive. P bass pickup at the neck. Dual coil "double jazz" at the bridge. 3 way selector for series/single/parallel and 3 way selector for neck/both/bridge. Master volume and tone. I solo the neck pickup with the tone wide open probably 75% of the time. With the bridge in parallel it does a super PJ tone though.

 

[rtslinger]

Passive basses are what I have the most of the tone is magical with a active bass you have to hunt it more imo, passive plug and play

 

[Bassa Nova]

I'm not "anti-active", but I have been in an passive phase lately.

My main player is all passive. P bass pickup at the neck. Dual coil "double jazz" at the bridge. 3 way selector for series/single/parallel and 3 way selector for neck/both/bridge. Master volume and tone. I solo the neck pickup with the tone wide open probably 75% of the time. With the bridge in parallel it does a super PJ tone though.

Let’s see this beast! Pics please

 

[DonaldR]

Fender passive Jazz that I really like (depending of the mood and the songs).
LTD active EMG (P/MM) that I really like (depending of the mood and songs).
Yamaha active with passive switch that I really like. My #1 that I usually play in passive mode for a big heavy blues/rock sound but I can switch to active mode for solo and modern sound. This is the bass I will bring if I don't know what amp is provided as I can get any good sound with the active/passive mode.

Active and passive basses are tools that you use depending of the situation. Passive might be better at some tasks and active at some others.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I'm pretty much done with active basses. I feel like you can 'hear' a passive bass better, so to speak. Plus I don't like fiddling around with extra knobs. It's a distraction in a way. Besides, who wants to worry about a battery dying on a gig!? Heck with that!

 

[superiorpine]

I swing both ways. The advantage of an onboard pre with passive pickups is that the pre drives the cable. I like 20 ft. Longer cable runs in a passive bass can change the sound.

IME, good pres are neutral to tone when set flat. Not all are like that, and some have a baked in tone. I'n not fond of those. In experimenting with Audere and Glock pres, active and passive settings in a practice environment sound identical. In a performing environment with a long cable, not so much.....

 

[Passinwind]

Anybody else feel this way? I love what active electronics give to you, but dang if passive isn't just awesome. I think I've just been away for too long.

Nope. Not ever. Never. 100% nope. Not gonna happen. But with all that said, my favorite bass sounds come from unamplified upright.

None of my basses even have a bypass switch. And they all need amps, which are all active by nature. Once the horse is out of the barn...

 

[Altitude]

Both of my Skjolds are passive. I love 'em that way. I also have a passive St. Blues P/J not in the picture.

The Valenti is active.

 

[Geri O]

Ok, let's rumble. (joking) Please indicate where the OP said any of the things you have accused him of. Did he represent passive-players as a small, maligned minority? Or what about him stating that passive-players are somehow neglected?
It should be very easy for you to quote those statements, if they existed.
I will say again, I completely agree with what you said, in principle, but the evidence is that you are reading between the lines too much in this instance.

Please. I merely made a comment. Didn’t accuse anyone of anything. Now who’s resting between lines?

Rumble with yourself. Joking or otherwise.